


lost birds

by Shama_Nina



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alabasta Arc, Alternate Universe - Wings, Bonding, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Racism, Canon-Typical Violence, Drum Island Arc, East Blue Saga, Family Feels, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Nakamaship, Prompt Fic, Recovery, Team as Family, Wingfic, but - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25915492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shama_Nina/pseuds/Shama_Nina
Summary: One Piece as we know and love it with the one little difference that Zoro's got wings. I just really wanted to write this, so here it is.The first chapter is kind of an introduction to the concept and covers the whole east blue saga.All later chapters will be your prompts, pls write them in the comments ;) I am pretty up to date (To the beginning of Wano, after fighting Hawkins) So everything is allowed time wise. I don't write f/m ships, but could definitely do some m/m if you wish for it!
Relationships: Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Roronoa Zoro, Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates/Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates, Roronoa Zoro & Tony Tony Chopper
Comments: 14
Kudos: 46





	1. A wandering albatross

Before meeting Zoro Luffy had never heard of people with wings. It was Nami that explained to the young Captain shortly after meeting him that there was a race, similar to the fishmen, that carried these large wings. Apparently they traveled the sky for seventy percent of their lives, so there wasn’t much information about them around and even when they did land, they always avoided populated islands.

So naturally Luffy was absolutely fascinated when his eyes landed on the bound form of Roronoa Zoro. His reputation as a notorious pirate hunter and the demon of the east blue was enough to catch his interest, but what really settled the decision to make this man part of his crew were his wings.

If the king of the pirates was the freest man on earth, then he needed someone strong and equally free as his right hand. And who could be more free than a bird? Well the man probably didn’t want to be called a bird, but he could not think of a better word at the time.

Koby was by his side, tearing at his clothes and trying to get the young boy to leave the captured pirate hunter be. He was too scared to even look at the man, or he would’ve been in a similar state of fascination as Luffy.

The raven haired soon to be pirate stared at Zoro, catching every detail. He was bound to a large wooden cross in the middle of the walled in courtyard of the marine base. His muscular arms were bound to the beam, his shoulders were broad underneath the stained white shirt he wore. His legs hung limply, his head covered by a black bandana, eye-catching green hair peeking out beneath it. He was covered in sweat and dirt, the dusty floor sticking to his skin with every slight ocean breeze.

The most obvious thing though were the wings. They were enormous.  
Like his arms they were bound to the long beam of the cross, but they were longer, dropping down even after the wood supporting them ended. The tips brushed the earth softly. 

On the outside the feathers were a light grey, but every so often white peeked through them. One of them easily spanned three meters. The length of them made Zoro look bigger and much more intimidating than he would probably be without them. The title demon fit the man well in Luffy’s mind.

They looked ruffled and dirty though, some of the feathers pushed in ways that looked wrong and painful by the rope the marines had used. Overall the man looked uncomfortable and tired, his steely grey eyes staring at the floor. He had probably been hanging there in the sun for a long time if his dry lips were anything to go by.

A small girl was faster than Luffy though, climbing the wall with a ladder and sneaking to Zoro’s side. She wanted to bring him food but some of the marines caught her, literally throwing her out. It was thanks to Luffy that she did not get seriously injured, as a show of gratitude the girl, Rika, explained the predicament Zoro was currently in.

The pirate hunter made a deal with the marines to protect Rika’s family from the brutal Captain ruling this island. He would patiently wait a full month without food or water in that courtyard. A third of that time had already passed, quickly explaining the man’s exhausted state.

The deal was already hard under normal circumstances, but that bastard captain Morgan had obviously no intention of actually sticking to it, his son, Helmeppo, proudly announcing that they would execute their prisoner the very next day.

Luffy lost it at that, that marine captain did not have a single ounce of honor in his body, someone needed to take him down. And that someone was obviously him, but first he had to free Zoro.

After learning of the rotten deal Zoro agreed to Luffy’s rescue, although not to being part of his crew just yet. Only after bringing him his three swords back and taking the base down together did he change his mind, the worked well as a team and had similar ambitions of great magnitude.

The king of the pirates and the best swordsman.  
Koby stayed behind, promising them he would train hard to be a hero of the marines. Both men laughed heartily at that, whishing the young boy luck as they left the island behind to chase their dreams.

Sitting in that little dingy together they traded stories, although Zoro was far less talkative then Luffy even on his best days. The green-haired swordsman spent most of his time sorting his wings out after the ten-day ordeal he had lived through, cleaning the long feathers and straightening them out. The inside was colored in a clean white. Occasionally he ripped some of them, if they were completely bent out of shape, letting them fall to the ocean, handing some to Luffy if the man asked.

Luffy also asked him if it was painful, Zoro only shrugged. It probably was, but Luffy already knew that his new companion was very prideful, so he did not ask any more questions. His first mate was obviously not very comfortable with talking about many things related to his wings. Luffy accepted it without a second thought.

Zoro was still sorting his wings out when Luffy took the shortcut to the next island via bird. The newly announced first mate contemplated flying up after his captain, but his wings still felt cramped. He could definitely fly if he really wanted to, but he trusted Luffy, he was strong, he could handle whatever happened while he was away.

Someone needed to keep an eye on the boat anyways. It was small, but the only thing they had at the moment. And as a pirate crew they’d need a boat.

It wasn’t long until he was met with the first few idiots of Buggy’s crew, they quickly guided him to the next island, where their captain resided at the moment. It wasn’t surprising at all to find Luffy there as well.

What was surprising, was that he was sitting in a cage and had a new companion. A redhaired woman named Nami, who was obviously not interested in befriending them but rather in stealing from that weird pirate Buggy. Weird in the way he was dressed as a clown, the way he was terrorizing the island was very much typical pirate from what Zoro and Nami knew.

Buggy didn’t give a flying fuck about Zoro’s wings, one might forget because of his personality, but he was once an apprentice in Gol D. Roger’s crew, it wasn’t entirely unrealistic, that he was already familiar with Zoro’s race.

That didn’t stop the man from tricking the former pirate hunter turned pirate and stabbing him in the back with the power of his devil fruit. Yeah, that island was kind of a disaster, but they gained two things that were essential for their journey.

Nami was a Navigator, and a very good one at that. But also a thief, who had stolen from Buggy, amongst the treasures a map. The map that would lead them to the Grand Line, the first step to make Luffy’s dream come true.

She was reluctant to ally with them, distrustful of pirates in general and Zoro’s winged appearance specifically. She didn’t outright say anything against the silent swordsman, but she explained to Luffy what she knew about his kind in an angry voice, hurt lacing her words, especially in the comparison to fishmen she made. Neither Luffy nor Zoro commented on it, but the young captain was persistent in his idea of making her his navigator.

In the end they did kind of have fun traveling together and she quickly forgot about the large appendages sitting curled on Zoro’s back. It wasn’t like he had much use for them while they were travelling like this, so he kept them tightly folded, so they wouldn’t take up as much space.

On the next island the found, they met a boy with a very wild imagination, who quickly hid his surprise as he realized that one of the travelers was not entirely human if the wings were anything to go by. He introduced himself as the great captain Usopp, who had 8000 men under his flag.

In the end his “crew” was made up of three kids who lived on the island, but he was friendly enough, showed them the village and even brought them to meet his sickly friend Kaya. It was a merry little place, very calm until a certain captain Kuro showed his true colors and tried to kill Kaya to get her money.

Usopp was determined to stop him and save his village, even after no one believed him about the danger they were in. It was no wonder, in the end the boy was a notorious liar, but Luffy agreed to help him without a second thought. He and the long-nosed boy were already thick friends. Whoever offered him a meal had to be a good person after all.

Zoro and Nami were roped into this pact by default. Usually Zoro would have had no struggle to fight these guys, but Nami quickly pulled him into a tricky position. He was gliding down the oil covered hill after she had used him as a ladder.

With his wings coated in the heavy stuff flapping them was useless, flying away was not an option. Now the animosity between them was officially mutual.  
He had to fight grounded against the enemy pirates, not that it did much to stop him in the end, while Luffy took down their captain.

Usopp rescued Kaya and his whole village without them ever knowing. The blond girl was joyful und thanked the young pirate crew, gifting them their very first real ship. The Going Merry.

Usopp was the son of a pirate and Kaya knew, his heart longed for the sea, so she asked of him to go with them, deep down the boy knew she was right and joined Luffy in a last minute, breakneck decision, leaving his village and his beloved behind.

Now that they at least had a real ship there were always things to do. Nami was in fact a genius navigator, guiding them flawlessly. She was always outside because of her job on board, keeping her eyes on the horizon.

Usopp and Luffy were both pretty hyped about the whole pirate crew and traveling the seas thing, jumping and playing around all day. The only time they really settled down was for food or for storytelling.

Usopp may be a notorious liar, but he was also an incredible storyteller, his wild imagination spinning tales to tell and his colorful vocabulary getting everyone on board to listen closely.  
Neither Zoro nor Nami would openly admit to liking the tales Usopp made up, but both of them tended to stay close whenever they were going at it, focused on his words.

Zoro spent a great deal of time napping on deck, where he was close to the others. It happened more than once that he had to take a dive after their captain into the ocean. He was ready to jump up any second really, should Usopp scream too loud or desperate in his and Luffy’s play or should Nami call out to change the course.

Now that they had a bigger ship Zoro also began stretching his wings out from time to time. He was used to carrying them close to his body at all times, it was rare that he would find a room for himself somewhere and he could be alone. And he simply did not trust anybody enough to just stretch and relax them around other people.

It was different with these people. He could trust Luffy. He did not know why, but the feeling about that was intense. Instinctual. And Luffy trusted Nami and Usopp. And even if Zoro didn’t fully agree with that, he knew he and his captain could take them on easily. They could take anyone. There was nothing to fear, so he let his wings fall open, even when he napped.

Now it was obvious how big they were, practically spanning the whole deck.

As if realizing that Zoro was more at ease now Luffy crouched next to his first mate and fixed him with a curious look, Usopp standing nervously beside him.  
“Can I touch Zoro’s wing?” He asked with a broad grin.

Zoro remembered the fascinated look the black-haired boy had given his feathers when they first set sail and how carefully he’d held the bent and dead feathers he had handed the young captain even after he had seen Zoro chuck them into the ocean carelessly. The swordsman also thought about the powerful punches and the broad grins he threw around before slowly nodding.

The energetic rubber boy was once again much more careful than most would think him capable of while touching the soft, white inside of his wing, only brushing the feathers in a downwards motion, not ruffling them or getting them out of place. It was fascinating.

For a second Zoro forgot that Usopp was standing there as well until their newest member spoke up.  
“You’re a wandering albatross.” 

Zoro twitched slightly at that, giving the boy a weird look, that in turn had the longnose shuddering and stuttering. “Ahhm, I mean you have the wings of a wandering albatross of course!! The color and the height to wing ratio and..”

He was beginning to ramble and Zoro quickly raised a hand to get him to stop. “You’re right.” He simply agreed with the boy’s estimate and carefully shifted his wing a little closer to the sharpshooter. “You can touch it too if you’d like. Do it like Luffy.” The words were a surprise to all of them, including Zoro, but in the end it didn’t feel too bad.

Usopp’s hands were shaking, his touch even lighter than the rowdy captain’s at the beginning, but all three of them soon got more comfortable with the new position.

Unbeknownst to them Nami had watched the interaction from afar, clutching her shoulder tightly, the symbol of the fishmen pirates that laid siege to her hometown and life for years seared into her skin.

Zoro was like them. He was part of a race that was not human and that deemed humans to be beneath them. And here he was, relaxed and calm, protective of his little crew even, an honorable fighter that let his wings be pet by two teens. It seemed so out of place in her mind, that it made her angry.

At one point, Zoro’s head poked up and he shook his companions off before lifting himself into the air effortlessly. It was the first time they all saw him actually fly. He didn’t go far though, a small ship was drifting closer to them and Zoro greeted the people on board it seemed.

He guided them to the Merry and landed. It was by far less smooth than his start, but he at least managed without falling off the ship again or breaking something on it, good enough for him.

The two people that entered the Merry after him were Johnny and Yosaku. They were bounty hunters, old friends and colleagues of his. They spent the rest of the day sailing together, joking around.

Before long they found not an island, but a floating restaurant. Luffy was once again an idiot, that got himself into trouble by destroying half the ship on accident. The head chef sentenced him to dishwash his debt away while the rest of the crew had a delicious meal and met another one of the chefs with a very, let’s say special, personality.

Sanji was constantly fawning over Nami and really, any other woman in sight. At least his food was something to marvel at.

It wasn’t long before they got into real trouble. Don Krieg showed up at the Baratie with demands and Nami disappeared with the Going Merry. Mihawk came to take the Don down…

Dracule Mihawk was one of the Shichibukai and known as the world’s best swordsman, Johnny and Yosaku were quick to explain while Zoro was rushing off to meet the man. This was Zoro’s dream, to take down this very man.

The nickname Hawk Eyes made a lot more sense after meeting the man. It wasn’t just the intimidating gaze of his piercing yellow eyes that his name was referring to, but also the pair of large brown wings he casually carried on his back.

After declaring their fight a duel, Zoro drew his three swords while Mihawk chose a measly little dagger as his weapon. That would be more than enough to take someone like Zoro down in his opinion.

Both flapped their wings and lifted into the air, a fight in their natural habitat. The onlookers down on the ship couldn’t make out much other than the fact that Zoro was quickly losing. He didn’t stand a chance, not even against the little dagger.

After the short blade pierced his chest, he took a dangerous dive downwards, only catching himself in the air last minute. One last attack settled their battle, two of Zoro’s swords rained down towards the ocean in broken pieces of metal. He landed down on the deck, an exhausted mess while Mihawk touched down elegantly and relaxed.

Even though his loss was obvious and painful Mihwak complimented the younger swordsman, even asking after his name before literally cutting him down. At least the man had finally drawn his real sword, an intimidatingly big black blade, decorated with gold and jewels, in a way to honor his opponent.

Zoro was cut from shoulder to hip, the hit grazing both of his wings. He quickly lost balance and then consciousness if his dive into the ocean below was anything to go by.

Both Johnny and Yosaku were quick to dive in after him and pulled their friend out. Zoro was in tears, something they had never seen before, but not out of pain, but rather out of humiliation. He lifted his remaining sword and declared he would never lose again, the he would get stronger and claim the title Mihawk held when they fought the next time.

Meanwhile Luffy began his fight with the Don, prompting Mihawk to leave again as Krieg was already taken care of. He was right in the assumption that Luffy would win the fight and left it in the rubberman’s hands.

The people on the Baratie were grateful for their help, lifting Luffy’s debt and patching them up as best as they could.

After having seen how Sanji fought and after having a taste of his food Luffy had literal stars in his eyes. This man would be his cook.

Sadly the man himself didn’t agree to this idea as easily as most of the other crewmembers had, claiming that he was needed in the Baratie. So Luffy sent Zoro, Usopp and Johnny on their way after Nami while he decided to handle the situation about recruiting Sanji.

Luckily the Baratie’s chefs agreed with Luffy, Sanji was made for traveling the sea.  
It was the only way of making his dream come true, to find the legendary ocean, the All Blue.

Johnny and Yosaku had been the ones that gave them an idea where to go looking for Nami and the Going Merry. Arlong was well known and feared in the east blue after taking over an entire island. That was where they were headed.

In a stroke of bad luck Zoro was captured, or rather picked up after having been bound to the ship and abandoned by the scared duo of Usopp and Johnny. Well he was kind of at fault for recently facing a near death experience and wanting to simply storm Arlong Park, like it was a thing he did every normal Tuesday evening.

The fishmen were the first people since meeting Luffy that took in the swordsman’s appearance with disdain and hatred in their eyes. Avians and fishmen did never have a very good relationship for obvious reasons. They were two sides of the same coin one could say, the fishmen hating how easily they lifted themselves into the sky, the only place that they could never reach.

The wings were the reason avians never had to deal with the same prejudice the fishmen faced, they simply lived far away from the humans, out of the reach of slavers and murders and hatred. In turn, fishmen hated all avians.  
Racism works in a very funny way, getting minorities with similar problems to hate each other even more than they hated their actual oppressors.

After Nami and Arlong had argued over his fate, apparently the young navigator worked for the fishman, it was decided that the redhead would get the honor of killing him, but she was not in the mood right now and he was pulled into a storage room and bound. The fishmen were none too careful with his wings nor with his injuries, but Zoro would rather die than show them his discomfort.

The winged man saw right through Nami’s game. She would probably never be in “the mood” to kill him, she was not that kind of person even though she desperately tried to act her part in front of the fishmen pirates.

Just like he had expected she came to free him and told him to leave the island as fast as he could. He had to agree with Luffy this time, there was no way that they would leave her behind, especially not after she had helped Usopp fake his death to get away from Arlong and learning from the long-nosed boy about her history with Arlong.

They would fight these damned fishmen with everything they had.

Sanji, Zoro and Luffy were an intimidating trio, hell even Usopp took one of those fishmen down on his own. Sadly Luffy got himself into a very sticky situation like he often did, forcing the consequences onto his crew. 

The blond cook had to fight one of the fishmen underwater in order to save his captain, a very bad idea. While Zoro took on an octopus fishman that would just not stay down. He could feel that his stitches ripped while fighting, his wings twitching uselessly, bound to his torso so he would not flap them and aggravate the injuries there.

Even after winning that fight, Arlong easily picked him off the ground. His fever was rising, he was quickly losing blood again. He could faintly hear Johnny and Yosaku calling out for him, but he could not make out their words. It wasn’t like their worries would help him much anyways, so he focused on the gigantic fishman holding him by the neck.

The guy was mocking them, relaxed even after they had destroyed his self-made kingdom and killed half of his crew. He was totally lost in his superiority complex over the humans and enraged about Zoro, asking him if he wasn’t ashamed of himself for working with them.

His second hand gripped one of Zoro’s bound wings, ripping the feathered appendage upwards so he could have a look at it. The bandages covering most of his torso ripped in the process, slowly exposing the grueling wounds.

The white of his wings was sticky and rust colored, large patches of feathers cut. His chest and stomach were bleeding again. Even Arlong looked a little shocked by that.  
Luckily Sanji had finally done his part, Luffy was free and quickly switched places with Zoro, ending the fishmens tyranny over the island and the whole east blue.

Nami came with them after that, way more at ease with everyone, but especially with Zoro. As if him fighting for her was all it took to make her realize, that he was nothing like Arlong all along.

Well, Zoro couldn’t care less about the how and why of things, but it was nice to know the true colors of someone. It was important to put trust in your crewmates, or like Luffy put it, Nakama. And he was right, at this point the four of them were closer than friends. They were family.

Yes, Nami still screamed at the top of her lungs most of the time, her temper was legendary. Yes, the cook and the swordsman were constantly at each other’s throats, but beneath all those antics laid a deep trust in every single member.

It’s why nobody took Loguetown really serious. Everybody wanted to have fun on the last island before the Grand Line and had their own goals in mind while shopping things for their journey.

Nami went to equally many clothing stores as book stores and cartographic suppliers while Sanji visited the market. The blond knew how big Luffy’s appetite was, so the shopping list was nearly unending. Usopp was an inventor at heart, there was a great deal of things he was interested in seeing and buying. Zoro was his complete opposite there, he was only interested in one thing right now: Replacing the two broken swords.

He had some unexpected help with finding the two best swords the whole island had to offer and got them, well for free, because the first one was cursed and the second one was a gift.

Luffy was similarly simple minded. He wanted to see the legendary place Gol D. Roger had been executed at, where his legacy first began. The scaffold.

Nobody expected there to be any trouble, but after stirring things up in the east blue a bounty was put on Luffy’s head. In fact, it was the biggest bounty in all of east blue now and one captain smoker was not happy about it at all. Neither was Buggy, who honestly, nobody bad expected to show up again.

In the end luck was once again on their side, a raging storm befalling Loguetown and securing their getaway. Nobody got killed and everybody got what they had come for, Luffy laughing all the way, even throughout his near execution.

In the midst of the storm they reached the rivers mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line. They promised each other to fulfill their dreams on this journey.

To find the All Blue, to be a brave warrior of the seas, to draw a map of the world, to become the greatest swordsman and to find One Piece as the kind of the pirates!


	2. Chopper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this Chapter Chopper meets the strawhats! I recently rewatched most of the Alabasta Arc and it's so cute how Chopper instantly latches onto Zoro, I mean our moss head carries him through most of the desert without complaining, so it's gotta be mutual somehow x'D  
> Remember that scene where Luffy randomly drinks cactus juice and goes berserk in the desert? No? I didn't either XD But it's such a cute scene, the responsibility get's literally dumped on Zoro and Chopper, so they let him run wild for a while and have a cute bonding moment, talking a real heart to heart, it was the inspiration for this chapter :3 But the dialog is written from memory, part of it is made up anyways, because this is kind of an AU but whatever, I'm rambling XD  
> Have fun reading and comment if you have an idea or wish for the fic!!

Chopper’s and Zoro’s first meeting was very brief. On Drum island the strawhat’s swordsman decided to take a swim in the freezing water while waiting back on the ship. It would be good training for his stamina and resisting the cold he thought.

Unsurprisingly, that was not a very good idea. Next to nearly freezing to death in the icy waters the green haired man quickly lost his way and ended up wandering around the winter island clad only in his pants, that were on top of all that still cut a little short from their adventures on Little Garden.

Conclusion: His ankles fucking hurt and he was frankly freezing his ass off.  
He tried wrapping his wings around his torso to conserve at least a little warmth, but there was only so much one could do in those temperatures.

The only reason he hadn’t flown Nami up that mountain in the first place was this damned cold. The height and the winds surrounding the mountains, his wings would freeze and they would fall and die, simple as that. Two people would be much too heavy for frozen wings. He was definitely not made for a place like this, what was he thinking before jumping into the water!

That was when Chopper and Dr. Kureha found him, or well, passed him by. That woman did not like being called her age, not one little bit. Kureha did in fact not give a flying fuck about people like that, although her reindeer companion felt a little bad for leaving him behind.

And confused, yes definitely confused. At first glance he had mistaken the grey fluff around the man for a coat, but it definitely wasn’t, his shoulders and neck laid bare to the cold, and then he had seen his back, if only for a split second.

The feathery coat was sprouting out of the man’s back, there was a lot of tan skin visible next to the grey and white of the… of the wings? Yes, they looked like wings. Did humans with wings actually exist? He had never seen something like that in his medical books, so it definitely wasn’t a usual occurrence. Was that foreigner a monster, just like him?

Chopper had a lot of questions, but it would still take a while before he would get his answers, for now they had to return to their castle. They heard an avalanche, but there was nothing they could do about that, the little doctor just briefly hoped the winged man would not get hurt.

At their castle they had other things to do, three patients had found their way up the mountain, they took his thought away from the man and back to his profession in seconds.

Only after they had been cured and had a sever fight with Wapol did his thoughts stray again. Luffy had invited him to be part of his pirate crew… Him, a monster.

But… Luffy was kind of a monster too, right? Well at least he had eaten from the devil’s fruits as well. The rubberman was quirky, and funny and he had called him a friend. It would be nice to sail with him. They were on the Grand Line after all, that was dangerous, they definitely needed a doctor on their ship if they wanted to continue their journey.

Then the rest of the straw-hat wearing boy’s crew arrived at the castle. Chopper caught sight of the green haired man again, although his wings were barely visibly beneath the thick coat he now wore.

Zoro looked pretty uncomfortable in the garment, part of the feathers adorning him peeking out of the fur lined jacket both at the bottom and at the top, but hey, better than freezing to death, right?

Chopper had some doubts about going with them, but in the end, it was the right decision. It is what Dr. Hiriluk would have wanted for him. Pirates, the epitome of freedom and hope.  
They celebrated his arrival and Chopper’s worries vanished, at least for a while. Nobody acted as if he was a monster here, they all accepted him with open arms.

The journey to Alabasta wasn’t long from there. The climate change was rather drastic though. Of course it was, after all Drum was a winter island and Alabasta was a summer island, to be exact, it was a desert kingdom. Chopper had never been to a place that hot, it was uncomfortable and dry. He felt exhausted as soon as they reached shore, he couldn’t imagine having to fight here.

Which was very bad, because he was informed about their goal, about freeing princess Vivi’s people, Sir Crocodile and the Baroque Works. They didn’t know about Sanji and him though, it’s why they left the ship together to get supplies.

Sadly the reindeer did not take well to the heat at all and wasn’t of much help to the cook. He dreaded the journey through the desert to the oasis Yuba. He didn’t want to complain though, he wanted to be strong and useful to his friends…

It seemed Zoro was very perceptive, he quickly picked up on their newest crewmember’s discomfort and offered to carry him for a while. The while turned out to be most of the days they spent walking actually. Chopper fit neatly behind his neck in his smallest form. And he had a nice view down his comrade’s back for once.

He noticed that the swordsman’s wings hung free once again, only loosely wrapped around his torso, occasionally brushing the dunes they were walking on. This was possible because he had slit the black and white tunic he wore from the bottom up to his shoulder blades in two places, where his wings grew from his back.

The off-white shirt he wore beneath it was different, it hid the lower part of his back well, so he wouldn’t burn out here in the desert sun, but the top part was rather wide, like a deep V-neck but on the backside of the shirt. It looked a little weird, but definitely useful and comfortable with the wings.

The lightly colored feathers were collecting dust and the little doctor was very curious about the appendages, so he carefully touched the feathers closest to his position with his hoof. He tried to be gentle and brushed some of the persistent sand grains away.

Zoro’s stride faltered a little, but otherwise he didn’t acknowledge the move. Chopper would have to ask him more about his wings after this. He would be the one responsible for their health from now on, so he needed to learn how to treat these wings as fast as possible.

The strawhat’s luck while wandering the desert wasn’t all that great apparently. Everyone was hungry and thirsty and not to mention hot and tired. So their genius captain had the wonderful idea to drink some random cactus juice and quickly began to hallucinate.

Somehow everyone present agreed instantly that it would be Zoro and Chopper that got to deal with the idiot and his antics while they walked on ahead.  
After are they were the ship doctor and the unofficial first mate of the crew. Unofficial only because nobody would actually call the swordsman that, and danced on his nose like the annoying teenagers they were, but if something serious was going on, they all knew to trust his decisions.

There was not much they could do other than wait it out while Luffy jumped around and attacked the poor desert sand, or occasionally them. Luckily Zoro was always fast and strong enough to dodge their crazed captain’s moves. It would take a while for him to work through this, so the pair sat down in the sparse shade they found behind a lonely little rock.

“Somehow I landed on the wrong ship.” Chopper lamented to himself while sitting down, not expecting an answer, but Zoro began to laugh loudly, startling the small crewmember for a second.  
“Yeah, I thought that too.” He grinned at the reindeer’s perplexed expression.

“Ne, Zoro? You are the oldest member of Luffy’s crew, right?” Chopper asked at that, taking this as an invitation to talk. He had already learned that the swordsman wasn’t the most talkative, but it looked like he had his moments of openmindedness.

“Yes, but I’m not much older than the rest of them.” He agreed easily. “Why did you join Luffy in the first place?” The younger proceeded with his line of questions and the older took his time thinking about an answer.

“I didn’t want to join at first to be honest. I didn’t like pirates.” He confessed, a melancholic expression taking over his stoic face. “But Luffy can be very, ah, convincing. Some people say we don’t work well as a crew, but what does that even mean? I think we work very well as a team because everyone of us is good at something the others are bad at. We all have very individual dreams and traits. Luffy’s okay with that, he lets us be ourselves, that’s why I’m staying by his side, I think.”

Zoro’s answer was thorough and awe inspiring to his newest crewmember. He had never talked, or well, even thought of it like that, but it was true.

“Yes, he took me in even though I am like this.” Chopper said with a bright grin and Zoro snorted softly in return, keeping a watchful eye on his captain while he was running around in the sand.

“Me as well.” The swordsman commented softly and brushed his wing over his smaller comrade playfully before settling it against his back again.  
“Can I ask you some questions about those?!” Chopper continued eagerly at that, his bright eyes alight like stars in the night sky. Zoro wasn’t nearly as happy with the topic, but it was a little reindeer boy slash doctor that asked, so who could say no to that?

Zoro already realized he was in deep. He had a very strong protective streak for all of his crewmates, but Chopper was young and naïve, and in his preferred form small and physically weak. He had a soft spot, ohh and how he hated admitting that even to himself. So he nodded in approval, already anticipating the first question.

“So what are those wings? Have you eaten a devil fruit like me? Or is it a mutation? Are you another race?!” The small doctor asked with bright interest on the topic befitting any naturally curious scientist.

“It’s a race thing. They’re called avians and they don’t like humans, they don’t really meet. A little like fishmen I guess.” Zoro concluded, the last statement was filled with disdain, and even before that, the joy of the conversation was gone.

Chopper easily picked up on the mood swing and shifted a little closer to Zoro. He wasn’t sure if it was a prey instinct to hide or if he subconsciously wanted to console his friend after he had brought up an upsetting topic.

“Okay.” The reindeer nodded now and thought of a way to get this talk back on track. Zoro was obviously not on very good terms with his own race, so he quickly doubled back to the crew. Zoro liked the crew and they liked him, it was very obvious, even though they bickered and teased each other mercilessly.

“Luffy likes your wings.” Chopper commented after a while. He had seen Luffy help Zoro with sorting out his wings again after they had left the cold of his home island behind and had shed their coats. The feathers had looked ruffled, and Luffy’s usually chaotic energy had been calmed by the task of straightening the feathers out again.

“Yes, he does. He thinks you look pretty cool as well.” The swordsman answered much more at ease again. “So it’s cool to be the monster of the team?” “Very cool.” Zoro’s downright demonic smirk was back and in a weird way the younger felt much more relaxed than he had felt around any other human being.

“You’ll have to let me touch them and tell me about the anatomy when we’re back on the ship, yeah? I need to know anything about them, so I can heal them!” The little reindeer’s excitement was back full force and Zoro decided to indulge him for a while, letting him pet over the feathered appendages while they had their little break from the madness that was their crew.

At least until Luffy flung himself at them again full force, destroyed the rock they had been leaning on and threw Chopper about a mile on accident. Yeah, this desert journey was going to be a pain, but it would also be fun, Chopper thought while flying through the hot air. A real adventure.


End file.
